Opinion | Manila’s war on drugs is helping to build bridges between China and Philippines
After years of conflict over South China Sea, nations have found common ground fighting spread of methamphetamine
Since his ascent to power last year, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has had two policy priorities. First and foremost is a brutal crackdown on suspected drug dealers, a bloody campaign that has claimed the lives of thousands of individuals.
The second is reviving frayed ties with China, which has been at loggerheads with the Philippines over disputed land features in the South China Sea in recent years. Interestingly, however, Duterte has deftly managed to connect the two policy priorities by welcoming help from Beijing when it comes to his campaign against illegal drugs.
Eager to woo a long-standing US treaty ally, Beijing has offered unprecedented carrots to the new sultan in Manila. Aside from dangling a multibillion-dollar development package, which includes a large railway network in Duterte’s home island of Mindanao, China has offered to assist in the campaign against illegal drugs.
It is an area of cooperation, which makes perfect sense. According to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, organised criminal networks in China have been the primary source of methamphetamine, better known as “shabu” in the Philippines.
Between 2015 and 2016, mainland Chinese made up two-thirds of the foreigners incarcerated in the Philippines for drug-related offences; with a further quarter from Taiwan and Hong Kong.